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 Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 6:36 pm
The south rarely had any shortage of heat, but today the sun rose murkily on the horizon through a groggy haze of mist, and even the shadows cast over the ground seemed vague and soft-edged. The young rider that strode across the grounds now squinted up at the bleary sky, and his expression seemed meant to reprimand the sour weather. His distaste was well-earned, however, since the morning flight had returned him with his dark hair (ever a bit too long since it needed cutting almost constantly) sticking damply to his neck and face and his leathers feeling slightly chafing from the humidity. Even without this morning’s weather, he cut a stern sort of figure. Despite being rather young (only seventeen turns come this season) and a thin, sort of handsome young man, it was hard to see beneath the critical, somber gaze he carried at almost all times, the worn riding leathers with their etched-in designs, and the threadscore on the fingers of his right hand – the only visible mark of the greater wound that went hidden under his clothing up to his shoulder, for fingerless gloves and long sleeves hid most of it. Though thread had yet to fall in this time, he was one of the many ‘veterans’ of the Timing missions many weeks earlier, though he’d gotten off lighter than many.
But today’s problems were milder. The first was the weather, which could only be waited out, and the second was the state of Lerath’s stomach. Sympathy pangs of hunger roiled his gut as he headed to the runner stables. The stables overlooked a wide field that tapered into a thin assortment of trees where a flock of wherries was resting, but despite the hunger he could sense in his companion overhead, he knew the blue would spend a great deal of time skirting the clouds high overhead, eyeing the movements of each animal until he found a kill in his favor. It would take some time, and V’al, by habit, headed into the stables for shade and the minimal entertainment of catching one of those new Candidates slacking off.
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:38 am
It was going to have to be a morning of disappointments for V'al, because, aside from the Stablemaster, the only helper present in the stables was a new Candidate and his hands were busy at work currying down one of the runners.
Gauden had been working at the stables since dawn, having the particular benefit of having been a 17-Turn-old on the verge of becoming a Journeyman Beastcrafter when he was Searched. The Candidate Master had seen fit to tell him his first day that he would be given as much time in the stables as the Candidate Master could wrangle, since his skills lent himself to such chores. This meant a great deal of cleaning for Gauden, but that didn't bother him much. He was used to hard work and had a father who would never have tolerated slacking off in his children, especially his eldest son. Currying runners, mucking stalls and were all tasks apprentices had lots of experience with. Considering Gauden was still trying to decide whether he really wanted to be a dragonrider when he had a lucrative career ahead of him already, the familiarity of the routine was more of a boon to him than the type of work he was actually doing.
Only his second day here and he was finding that the actions also lent themselves to giving him plenty of time to think about what he was doing, the consequences and benefits, and the ability to look at the situation rationally, as if it wasn't one of the most important decisions a man could make in his life. For someone as study as Gauden, that kind of serious study was of more benefit than an overemotional panic over the fact that his life was just upended and his father, Gauden knew almost for a fact, was not likely to be pleased with it.
The shadow that fell across the floor as someone stepped into the doorway distracted Gauden enough from his task that he looked up to see who was visiting the stables this time of day. He glanced up at the loft, where the Stablemaster had disappeared a few minutes earlier, and then assumed he may as well be polite. Not that he had to address the man. He had work to do, after all. Still, this was a new place with ways different from his Hall and he didn't want to make the wrong move and come across as rude.
"Can I help you?" He asked. "Needed to check on a Runner?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 2:38 pm
V’al seemed to stare at the Candidate from the entrance, though he actually didn’t want to walk in and trip over some nonsense before his eyes adjusted to the dim. When they did, he made his way in, shaking his head slightly at Gauden’s question. “No. My dragon is taking his time picking a wherry to down, and while I waited I thought to come in and finding one of those younger lads slacking off.” He tilted his head ever so slightly. “Are you one of the new candidates? I usually recognize the ones that have been around.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:06 pm
Gauden stared straight back at the rider as he hovered in the doorway, an open but not necessarily welcoming expression on his face. He was just... staring until the rider made the decision to both enter and answer his inquiry. Well, that just meant he didn't have to break away from his task, so he went right back to currying.
"Sure am. Came in two days ago," Gauden admitted easily, eyes on the Runner instead of the rider. He didn't mean it as a rude gesture, and didn't even think that it could be perceived as rude. He just needed his attention on what he was doing. "A couple other Candidates are out emptying buckets. Should be back eventually." Gauden knew some of the others were slackers, but he wouldn't just out them unless asked directly. Then, of course he'd tell the person asking. If they were goofing off they weren't pulling their share of the work, and that wasn't tolerated in the Beastcraft. Sure, there was an unspoken code among younger boys in the Beastcraft that if others were slacking you kept your mouth shut until it was going to get you into trouble, but the implication of honesty was still there and when apprentices got older many of those more like-minded to Gauden tended to just be upfront about such things. It saved trouble down the line.
He fell into silence, leaning over to get down one of the the runner's back legs.
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Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:36 am
From a distance, V’al could sense his blue’s curiosity. So far, their own Searches had born little fruit. Lerath had picked but one potential Candidate, and the young woman had been too old to bring back to the weyr. Other Search dragons had made better hauls, but rather than being self conscious, V’al young blue was only dreadfully curious about the new potential riders. Had he not been stooping on an unsuspecting wherry at just that moment, V’al would have expected a flood of questions from him.
In the stable, V’al took Gauden’s untelling answer and calm attention to the beast rather than himself as a sign of character. As he watched the candidate curry down the beast’s hind leg, the distant screeches of a flock of startled birds came thinly through the air. “Was this your craft? You seem fair with a runner.” He was also built like someone who works with animals should be, and as V’al remembered it, the Candidate master had been very capable of exploiting the skills of his charges.
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Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:08 pm
Gauden finished the leg and looked back at V'al, his hand resting on the back of the runner. "It was. Still is, unless I Impress."
He moved to from front of the stall return the curry comb to the box resting on the edge of the stall. He traded it for a stiffer comb to start untangling the runner's tail and mane. The gelding had done more than just dirty himself up when he'd been rolling around in the paddock, and Gauden was expected to make the beast presentable again. Again, better than mucking out stalls like the others were doing. He chose to start with the mane, moving around to the other side of the horse. One of the older, more amorous boys who had made Journeyman a few months before Gauden had once joked that at least Beastmasters could woo their girls properly with promises of well-scrubbed houses and hair brushing, they certainly got enough practice with the runners.
"Any experience with runners?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder while he slowly worked knots out from the lower parts of the mane. Thankfully, the runner seemed to have used up a good portion of energy out in the paddock and wasn't fighting him now.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:36 am
V’al nodded slightly at the logic. He’d been very much like that when he’d first arrived at the weyr. He’d assumed at the time that the Search dragon that had found him out had been simple minded and wasting everyone’s time, but that coming to the weyr would give him a better place to practice his trade. Even now, though Lerath had been the single best thing to happen to him, he felt that it was a good attitude for a candidate to hold to. There was no ill-effect to it being wrong in case one did Impress, but having seen the shattered hopes of those that aged out or couldn’t bear repeated failures in the dragonet’s eyes – well, there was harm in that. If Gauden did Impress then good for him, but if not he’d still be fit for his trade. V’al didn’t feel the urge to agree aloud though – the Candidate obviously didn’t need praise or guidance to have grips on reality.
He smiled faintly at the following question. “If you could call kicks and bites when I was a Candidate experience. I was a leatherworker, and you learn no gentleness in flexing stiff hides. Luckily the dragons aren’t affected much by old skills – or lack of them.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:30 pm
Gauden made a noncommittal noise, his eyes on his work again. The rider's presence didn't bother him, and as long as he was still working there was no harm in talking to him. Besides, Gauden didn't know anyone at the Weyr, and as long as the rider and he didn't get into an argument where the rider took some kind of offense, it would be nice to get a bit more social interaction than the Stablemaster was willing to offer him. The other boys, so far, hadn't bothered with him. He assumed they were just dimglows, too busy being worried about themselves than the new Candidate. It didn't bother him much; his life here at the Weyr had, so far, not been much different from life at the Hall, aside from a decided lessening of the workload.
"Most people don't even have that. Found that surprising. Guess most Candidates get their turn, though. Crafter?" He asked, only the glance up at V'al specifying that the last word was, in fact, a question about V'al himself and not a general start to a sentence.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 10:15 am
V’al’s attention seeded to shift to eyeing the runner and glancing around the stables in the silence, almost as if he were alone. Had he thought about it, he would have realized he enjoyed the comfortable silence with the near-stranger, as it was something rarely found with others. However, he never had dwelt much on appreciating others. He nodded when Gauden spoke again. “Leatherworking apprentice. When I came I thought the Search dragon that found me wasn’t much more than an overgrown flitt – not much cleverer than the watch wher had been – and that the best I’d get from Trine would be a better master.” He smirked wryly. “I turned out to be wrong on a number of counts.” He had never liked being wrong on principle. Being mistaken only led to other mistakes, but he had no trouble admitting errors he recognized or taking criticism well. Better to be corrected.
I do not think you listened to the Harpers as you should have, Mine, Lerath commented, too sated with his meal to do more than tease. I am done eating now. Who are you speaking with? It only took the blink of an eyelid for V’al to give a mental summary of the conversation and his impression of the Candidate. Will you ask him about….
V’al inclined his head to Gauden. “My blue’s finished eating. He wants me to ask how long you’ve been in your trade and what you think of it.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:49 pm
Gauden nodded at V'al's explanation and he realized it had been a stupid question. The rider had said he worked with leather, and it hadn't sounded much like a casual experience with it either. Well, now he had more to work with for conversation anyway, so good came out of it. V'al's explanation of his Search also struck a cord with Gauden, and he gave V'al a smile in return before the rider's eyes went distant. He didn't have to wait long before V'al announced his dragon had spoken to him-- was that what that was?-- and had questions.
He leaned back and draped an arm across the runner, rubbing his chin with the heel of his other hand. "6 Turns since I joined the Hall, but I was learning before that. Dad's a Master Beastcrafter. I was raised with his knowledge, and I was only a few sevendays from walking the tables when the Search dragon got me." He shook his head slightly. "Not sure he was right when he spotted me either."
"Gauden, by the way," he offered. He always seemed to skip the introduction step in conversations and the thought had occurred to him so it was best to attend to name-giving now. "And I've never known anything but the Craft, but I like it. Most people don't understand it's a hard Craft to learn. They see you working with animals and assume it's just fools playing up the difficulties." He removed his arm from over the runner and went back to finishing off the runner's mane. "It's a sight harder to learn everything you need to than people think. You can be a Beastcrafter, but there's no shirking in our Hall and you have to learn well if you expect to advance. No different'n any other Craft, I guess."
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:40 pm
V’al raised an eyebrow. Had he been so close to surpassing apprenticehood, would he have put his work aside to risk his future at the weyr? Since Impression, he hadn’t been able to imagine a life without His, but if he hadn’t known Lerath… He felt a dull pang in his chest with the knowledge that he wouldn’t have turned from his craft had he been as close at Gauden to achieving rank. If imagining the loneliness he’d felt in his home Hold continuing for the rest of his life wasn’t dismal enough, he couldn’t help but wonder what would have become of Lerath without him, wether he’d have found another else suitable or if he’d have gone Between.
You were there, so it does not matter, Lerath spoke to him, interrupting his thoughts with reassuring fact.
“That’s true enough. There’s one of everything in the barracks. Volcanologists, miners, weavers, tanners, smiths… but you have to put it aside to Stand of course. And if you do Impress bestcraft won’t give you any advantage over, say, a vintercraft apprentice.” He shifted and crossed his arms over his chest was his expression grew thoughtful. “Even with the training they give Candidates, if you Impress it’s like starting all over.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:20 am
Gauden raised his eyebrows. He supposed the still-nameless rider was right, but he hadn't really thought about it. He would be starting over, and he'd been so close to achieving his journeyman, finally. What was he thinking? Suddenly, his choice to see if he would really get picked seemed like a very bad idea. He'd worked for years at his Craft. Why was he giving that up?
Curiosity. To see, he answered himself. The drive to know if he really could have been a dragonrider. He just hadn't gotten as far as if he did Impress because he could have been, then he actually would be one and would have to give up on ever getting his Journeyman. That was stupid and his own fault for it. If he Impressed, he'd be throwing away years of work for... what?
"Was it worth it?" He asked, suddenly plagued with unfamiliar doubt. The way V'al put it... well, he was coming out looking the fool.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 12:53 pm
V’al didn’t answer immediately. He gave a crooked sort of smile and glanced over Gauden thoughtfully. “A craft is work. At the end of the day it’ll give you marks to live by and a way to put something yourself into the world if you’re skilled enough. It would have been a fine runner saddle for me perhaps; for you maybe you would better a breed. There’s nothing wrong with that of course. It’s the piecemeal work of crafters that makes and shapes our lives, but there are things a craft can never give you.” For a moment he glanced away, eyes drawn up as if distracted by something, then his gaze returned to Gauden. “The sentimental sorts are better at describing it, but I’ll just say that if you do Impress, you will never regret it for an instant.” As his lips tightened and he gave a slight nod, his attitude seemed to shift. “I’m only advising you to keep up with your craft as best you can in case a dragon doesn’t come to you. Should you leave or age out your training will be of use and there’s no reason to fall too far behind if you don’t slack.” He would wonder later in his quarters if his advice was, on the whole, more discouraging than anything, but he wouldn’t regret it. The truth was all that was sensible to work with, and he liked Gauden well enough to be honest with him.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:49 am
Whoever this rider was, he was smart. The explanation made sense, though it didn't make him want to try for that dragon as much as he had previously. The more he thought about it, the more he listened, the more he realized that trying for a dragon was putting his whole life at risk. And yet... the rider said he wouldn't regret it if he did have a dragon. He seemed happy with the choice he had made. Gauden had to wonder if maybe that sacrifice would be worth the prize.
The sudden shift in attitude didn't really phase Gauden. Plenty of moody beastcrafters, after all. Gauden wasn't a slacker or a quick-tempered man by nature, so the pointed advice didn't offend him in the slightest.
"Not in the habit of slacking." He put the brush away, finished with the runner. He patted it on the neck and gathered his things, easing out of the stall and locking it behind him, double checking the work by shaking the low door slightly. He turned to his companion and nodded in reply, serious but not unfriendly. "Appreciate the advice, rider. Don't intend to give up on my craft unless I have to, but I'll think on what you've said. It'd be best to do the thinking now, before the Hatching, after all, than wonder about it afterward." That Gauden had walked into this with doubts was a bad sign in itself, but the rider's explanation and advice only compounded that. He would Stand once, at least, since he was here, but he was certainly not sure about it. If a dragon didn't pick him, no harm done. Maybe he would even try a second time, just because he wasn't in the habit of giving up. On the other hand, if a dragon did pick him... He was back to that problem of losing his craft again.
"Better for the dragons to have plenty of choices on the Sands," Gauden admitted aloud. "That doesn't mean we're all suited for it, though. Might be the dragons take no interest in me at all."
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